Most people think of voice-overs as a strictly auditory craft, but there is a visual element to it as well. To be an exemplary voice-over artist, you must learn to “paint the picture” with your voice. The listener has to create a visual picture in their mind since there is often nothing to see when you hear a voice-over. That picture could be of the product you are pitching, the information you are sharing in a narration, or the action you are setting in an audio book.
One way to paint the picture successfully is to make descriptive words sound like what they mean. For example, take the words “strong”, “gentle” , “exhausted” , “soothing”, or “wild.” The word “strong” should be spoken in a robust, assertive manner to create the feeling behind the word (assuming that style fits with the copy). Conversely, “gentle” can be spoken in a soft, loving tone to invoke the feeling of what the word means. Some descriptive words lend themselves to this technique more easily than others. The more you can master this skill, the more effective your voice-over reads will be.
For example, look at this audio book passage from “Hawaii,” by James Michener:
“They were beautiful, that is true. Their wooded mountains were a joy. Their cool waterfalls, existing in the thousands, were spectacular. At night the stars were closer, great brilliant dots of fire fixing forever the location of the islands and forming majestic pathways for the moon and sun.
There are several descriptive words here that can be made to sound like what they mean – “beautiful” , “joy”, “spectacular” , “brilliant” , and “majestic.” The goal is to take the listener into the story with you. If you, as the voice-over artist, are visualizing the beauty of Hawaii when reading this, it’s much more likely that the listener is visualizing it, too.
It also works for commercial scripts. Take this spot for “Sylvan Learning Center” :
“If your child is struggling, or not just being challenged, call 1-800-EDUCATE SLYVAN… learning feels good.”
The word “struggling” captures a child’s frustration of not being able to grasp a new concept, like multiplication. The phrase “learning feels good” invokes the feeling of victory and accomplishment, the moment when the light bulb suddenly goes on in their head when they finally “get it.” To really move your audience to go out and buy a product, to retain new information in a narration, or to lose themselves in the plot of an audio book, you must touch them emotionally. They’ve got to hear, feel, AND SEE the message. So, be the best voice-over artist you can be.. learn to “paint the picture” with your voice.
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Bonnie Gilgallon is a successful graduate of Such a Voice’s program. She is an award-winning actress and singer, and also writes theater reviews for a local newspaper. She first studied with, and then later taught for, Such a Voice’s founder, Dan Levine. After relocating from Washington D.C. to Palm Springs, California, she spent 13 years as a news anchor/reporter and show host on KNWZ radio. She has recorded hundreds of voice-over pieces for clients including Animal Samaritans, The Gardens on El Paseo, Sandals Resort, Desert Medical Advances, and Richard’s Country Kitchen, for which she won an Addy award.
Bonnie also recorded her blog piece so you can hear her VO work!
Photo by Pat Freling of Paint Strategies
